he widespread financial crisis affecting so many state governments has created a situation of uncertainty for the future of prison chaplaincy. As states have been forced to cut overall spending, some of them have also eliminated state paid prison chaplains from their organizational charts.
The rationale given by some legislators in these states is that religious services can be provided by volunteers at no cost. This reasoning reflects a limited understanding of the chaplain's role as one who provides worship services and sacramental rites, but it overlooks important issues such as facilitating
the constitutional rights of all offenders to exercise religion and providing skilled pastoral care. In the long run, these roles and others may save the state more money in terms of fewer lawsuits and effective treatment programs.

Prison chaplaincy services also may provide a benefit in lowering facility infractions and reducing recidivism. There is growing evidence to support the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral programs in the correctional environment; however, few formal studies have been conducted on faith based cognitive programs.

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Studies by Paul Gendreau and Don Andrews indicate that a cognitive behavioral approach to treatment offers the best results for offenders. In cognitive therapy, the client and counselor collaborate to understand the client's dysfunctional thinking patterns and develop treatment strategies.

(2) Click for end notes A cognitive behavioral approach seems to be quite compatible with pastoral counseling and education aimed at treating criminal thinking patterns. This approach assumes a relationship between events, thoughts, feelings and behaviors.
In addition, it uncovers dysfunctional thinking patterns that lead to bad feelings and antisocial behaviors.

... the most effective programs begin by assessing the factors that
contribute to each offender's probability of continued criminal activity,
and then targeting these needs with appropriate programming.

This is compatible with religious training because the same principles can be supported from a biblical perspective. Proverbs 1:7 (new revised standard version) states, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." The same concept is expressed in Romans 12:2 (new revised standard version), which states, "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God what is good, and pleasing and perfect."

As Rebecca Propst points out in her book, Psychotherapy In a Religious Framework: Spirituality In the Emotional Healing Process, cognitive therapy techniques and Christian ideas can be blended to provide an effective healing environment.
Propst notes that cognitive therapy helps in the healing partnership by giving the client a rationale for the treatment procedures, encouraging self awareness and teaching new ways of thinking more flexibly and productively.

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Samuel Yochelson and Stanton Samenow contend that offenders think differently than pro social people inmates do what they do because of the way they think.

Yochelson and Samenow identified 10 thinking errors that are exhibited to a higher degree by inmates than nonoffenders:

Closed thinking not receptive to feedback from others, not self critical;

Victim stance views self as a victim and blames others;

Views self as a good person fails to acknowledge own destructive behavior, builds self up at others' expense;

Lack of effort unwilling to do anything perceived as boring, has an "I can't" attitude;

Lack of interest in responsible performance responds only if there is an immediate payoff;

Lack of time perspective does not learn from the past, inability to delay gratification;

The fear of fear denies fear in self and attacks fear in others;

The power thrust uses intimidation to control others;

Uniqueness different from and better than others, rules do not apply to them; and

Ownership perceiving all things and people as objects to possess.

Correcting thinking errors requires attacking them from several fronts at once. Yochelson and Samenow formed therapeutic communities with a high level of accountability. Inmates were taught to recognize thinking errors and begin to put on mental brakes whenever they caught themselves engaged in one. They spent several hours a day, several days a week in group therapy reporting their thinking patterns. When not in the group, they were asked to recognize and keep a log of their thoughts and actions, which were reported back to the group. A strict code of honesty, even about apparent, trivial matters, was mandatory in order to develop pro social patterns of thinking and behaving. This approach, developed with offenders who were on probation or parole, resulted in lower parole violations and reduced recidivism.' (4) Click for end notes

The Rev. Stephen T Hall is director of Religious Services and Community Involvement for the Indiana Department of Correction and is a certified correctional chaplain with the American Correctional Chaplains Association.